Investors Don't Expect
Mad-Cow Fallout
To Hit Broader Market

NEW YORK -- News of a possible "mad cow" in Washington captured headlines in quiet pre-Christmas trading Wednesday, but didn't cause too many problems for the options market.

The fear gauge, the Chicago Board Options Exchange volatility index, or VIX, barely crept up 0.17 to 16.66 -- a sign traders, at least for now, don't expect the suspected mad-cow disease case to rattle the broad market even as some countries like Japan...